THE WATCHTOWER SEPTEMBER 2012

“The Nations Will Have to Know That I Am Jehovah”

HOW would you feel if you were accused of a crime you did not commit? And what if that crime caused much suffering to others, including many innocent people? Surely you would want to clear your name! Are you aware that Jehovah faces a similar challenge? Today many wrongly blame God for the injustice and suffering in this world. Is Jehovah concerned about clearing his name? Indeed, he is! Consider what is said in the book of Ezekiel.—Read Ezekiel 39:7.

“I shall no more let my holy name be profaned,” Jehovah says. When humans blame him for injustice, they are profaning his name. How so? In the Bible, “name” often denotes reputation. One reference work says that God’s name refers to “what is known of him—his revelation of himself; it also represents his fame, and then his honour.” Jehovah’s name embraces his reputation. What is known of Jehovah when it comes to injustice? He hates it! He also has compassion for its victims.* (Exodus 22:22-24) When humans claim that God is responsible for the very things he abhors, they are sullying his reputation. They are thus “treating [his] name with disrespect.”—Psalm 74:10.

Notice that Jehovah twice uses the expression “my holy name.” (Verse 7) In the Bible, Jehovah’s name is associated with the terms “holy” and “holiness” numerous times. The word “holy” conveys the idea of separateness; it also denotes cleanness and purity. Jehovah’s name is holy because the God who bears it is holy—completely separated from anything that is sinful and unclean. Can you see why those who blame Jehovah for wickedness are heaping the greatest possible reproach upon his “holy name”?

Jehovah’s purpose to clear his name by means of his Kingdom is the main theme of the Bible. That theme is emphasized in the book of Ezekiel, which repeatedly states that “the nations will have to know that I am Jehovah.” (Ezekiel 36:23; 37:28; 38:23; 39:7) Notice that the nations will not choose whether to know that he is Jehovah or not. Rather, they “will have to know.” In other words, Jehovah purposes to take action that will compel the nations on earth to recognize that he is who he says he is—Jehovah, the Sovereign Lord, whose name stands for all that is holy, pure, and clean.

The oft repeated promise “the nations will have to know that I am Jehovah” is good news for those who long to see the end of injustice and suffering. Jehovah will soon fulfill that promise and clear his name of all reproach. He will eliminate wickedness and those who promote it but will preserve alive those who recognize and respect his name and what it stands for. (Proverbs 18:10) Are you moved to learn how you can draw closer to Jehovah, the holy God, who is “a lover of justice”?—Psalm 37:9-11, 28.